FROM ICE TO GRAVEL

THE ROAD TO INUVIK FINALLY BECOMING CONCRETE FOR TUKTOYAKTUK?

by Zoe Ho

How far would you go to ensure your family has a great Christmas? Some residents of Tuktoyaktuk and Aklavik went as far as to risk their lives and go against the law so their families can get to Inuvik for the festive season.

Despite the threat of $800 fines from the RCMP and the unusually warm winter which made parts of the ice road too thin and dangerous to drive on, these residents of Tuktoyaktuk and Aklavik felt driving was their only option. Flying was unaffordable, and Inuvik was where they wanted to celebrate with family and get cheaper supplies. The ice road officially opened to light traffic on 9 Jan 2006, although parts of it were still rough and narrow.

Hopefully, residents of these small communities will not have to put up with their lack of travel options for much longer. The Department of Transportation for the GNWT announced a $700 million proposal “Connecting Canada from Coast to Coast to Coast” last November. This proposal includes a $15 million budget for building 22 km of gravel highway from Tuktoyaktuk to Inuvik.

“It will take a lot of worry off our hands,” said Jackie Jacobson, Mayor of Tuktoyaktuk. He is working hard with his team and the government on getting “Source 177” approved; he said the community needs the gravel road to end the isolation they live in.

“ It costs $300 a ticket to fly from Tuktoyaktuk to Inuvik, and another $1300 to go from there to anywhere else,” he said. “It will be better for our youth if they could travel and open up their horizons.” At this point, Tuktoyaktuk only has one community bus that transports the students to swim meets, baseball tournaments and minor hockey in Inuvik.

The community also needs a gravel road badly so they can have amenities such as a cemetery, a solid waste site, a sewage lagoon and building materials.

Jackie said, “Tuktoyaktuk is almost level with permafrost, we can’t build new buildings on lots. We obtain building materials by taking apart old buildings.”

William Nasogaluak, previously Mayor of Tuktoyaktuk, said it is usually elections and oil exploration that revives government interest in small communities in the north.

“It is 30 years too late,” he said of the proposal to build a highway connecting the north to the rest of Canada. “I hope this is not an election ploy.” The government had abandoned the work on the Mackenzie Valley highway in 1977, when the Berger inquiry was released and a 10-year moratorium on oil and gas development was imposed.

In the 2004-2005 Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies, the Northwest Territories was ranked 4th out of 64 countries worldwide in terms of mineral potential. However, it was also ranked last in terms of infrastructure. There is renewed interest in gas and oil exploration in the Mackenzie Delta, and aboriginal groups are now development partners in the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline. To attract mineral and oil industries, the government has to improve the current system of transportation.

William Nasogaluak believes if the government wants to build a road across the ISR to support pipeline developments, they should also “put something back” into the communities. “If they are using nonrenewable resources on our land, it is only fair they provide us better medical services and schools.”

He said the majority of the tax revenue from oil exploration will be going to Ottawa. In the GNWT government’s proposal, economic modeling estimates that southern Canada will capture approximately 71% of jobs and 85% of taxes.

Vince Steen from Tuktoyaktuk feels that although the people of Tuktoyaktuk welcome the economic benefits from the building of an all Canada highway, ultimately the part of the proposal that “we are most interested in is the road from here to Inuvik”. Like William Nasogaluak, Vince hopes politicians will fulfill their election inspired promises.

“ Tuktoyaktuk is really encouraging them to follow through with building the highway. We look forward to the Community Corporation and hamlet growing as a result.”

While William Nasogaluak said the only opponents to the proposed project are elderly who fear change, Vince said Tuktoyaktuk will be vocal at the hearings in relation to where gas facilities will be built. Many in Tuktoyaktuk are opposed to large 737 runways being built at Parson’s Lake and Summit Point, as it could affect the migration patterns of caribou in the area. He said they would prefer to see the facilities installed in Tuktoyaktuk instead.

“ There seems to be a fair amount of gravel along the highway route, but of course it’s first come first serve. The Inuvialuit would like to see their needs satisfied before the oil companies’ needs, but that doesn’t mean it will happen that way.”

Despite the concerns, Vince said, “ A majority of people are in support of the highway. Most of us are prepared to deal with it when it happens, even though there are no doubt concerns about how it will affect housing and access to hunting.”

Meeka Steen, aged 19, is definitely excited about the gravel road from Tuktoyaktuk to Inuvik. “It will be fun! We won’t be isolated anymore. We will be connected to everything.” She will have expanded opportunities for education, and is now considering being trained for a career in hairdressing.

The highway will also have an affect on businesses, mostly positive. Non-renewable resource industries like hydro and tourism will get a chance to boom as more people and goods would be able to travel to and from the small communities.

Much of the increased employment impacts will occur outside of the Northwest Territories.

Economic modeling estimates that southern Canada would capture approximately 71 percent of jobs and 85 percent of tax. The construction components of the $700 million investment to be considered include:

1. Construction of an all-weather road from Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk

2. Extension of the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road from Fort Good Hope to the Dempster Highway south of Inuvik

3. Construction of an all-weather road from Wrigley to the Dempster south of Inuvik

4. Construction of permanent bridges across the Mackenzie and Liard rivers on the Mackenzie Highway

5. Upgrades to the existing Mackenzie and Dempster highways

Aklak might be one of the few companies that will be adversely affected. Air base manager Ken Dalton said “When the road is open during winter, our passenger volumes drop along with the freight loads. When the all seasons road opens, our business will be affected even more”. When asked whether Aklak had plans to deal with the road’s effect on their business, he said it will take awhile for the highway to be built, so there is interim time for alternate solutions.

Most importantly, the highway and 22km of gravel road will allow those born and raised in Tuktoyaktuk to continue sustaining a living there. Jacobson said, “We are looking forward to living off the land and the 18 months of work and 12 years of drilling the oil industry will bring.”

Right: